Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Through-the-roof home prices nothing short of a crisis
Editorial (Paywall)Lockdowns have given people in Melbourne and Sydney plenty of time to reflect on what their homes mean to them, and some will find considerably more comfort in that than others. ... This apparent rise in wealth and prosperity might bring a warm inner glow to the nation’s home owners, but the size of these figures and their trajectory will be chilling for those who have endured lockdown in a home owned by someone else and have dreams of buying their own.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/through-the-roof-home-prices-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government, Tax.New Zealand reserve bank to toughen mortgage-lending rules in bid to tackle housing crisis
Helen Livingstone The Guardian (No paywall)New Zealand’s reserve bank has announced plans to tighten up mortgage-lending, as the country struggles to tackle its housing crisis. One measure, which would come into force from 1 October after consultations, will involve reducing the portion of loans banks can make to owner occupiers with less than 20% of their deposit.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/03/new-zealand-reserv…
# International, Home ownership, Housing market.ATO's warning for 1.8 million property owners: 'Expect consequences'
Lucy Dean (No paywall)The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has put property investors on notice this tax time, warning that it will be scrutinising these claims closely. More than 1.8 million Australians owning rental properties claimed $38 billion in deductions in the 2019-20 financial year, with ATO assistant commissioner Tim Loh flagging extended surveillance this year. He said the most common mistake investors make is failing to declare all their income, including capital gains from selling the investment property or holiday home. (yahoo!finance)
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/ato-property-investor-warning-…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents, Tax.First-home buyers dropping out of the property market as investors return, new data shows
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)First-home buyers are getting crowded out of the hot property market by stiff competition from investors, downsizers and buyers in between. ... Rising prices have tempted investors back into the market in recent months, attracted by the prospect of future capital growth and the chance to borrow at interest rates that could stay low until 2024. Those same price rises have pushed homeownership further out of reach for some first-home hopefuls, who struggle to save enough to keep up with the increased deposit requirement.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/first-home-buyers-dropping-out-of…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Climate change: Wales set to build 20,000 low-carbon social homes
Steffan Messenger BBC (No paywall)Plans to build 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent in Wales by 2026 have been set out by the Welsh government's climate change minister. The hope is to tackle both a housing shortage and the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Housing associations say it could lead to thousands of jobs and training opportunities. But the Welsh government's opponents have said they would have gone further and built more. All the houses will meet what the government describes as "bold, new quality and environmental standards".
# International, Public and community housing, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.‘One life event away’: Homeless urged to complete the census
Julie Power The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Welfare groups expect next Tuesday’s census to record a significant increase in homelessness, particularly in regional areas because of unemployment and high rents caused by the pandemic. ... Homelessness advocates and welfare groups are working with the Australian Bureau of Statistics to encourage anyone who is homeless - or living in insecure and uncertain housing - to complete the census form accurately. It is the only national record of homelessness. ... Mission Australia’s chief executive James Toomey said contrary to popular belief, only seven per cent of families and people who were homeless were sleeping rough on the streets or in cars. ... At Rev Bill Crews Foundation in Ashfield, staff from the ABS will help visitors lining up for a free meal or the vaccine to complete the census. Rev Crews said the demand for free meals and the need for affordable public housing was “off the charts”. “If I am really blunt, governments know the situation, they really honestly know, they just don’t act upon it,” he said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/one-life-event-away-homeless-urg…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Health, Homelessness.The pandemic property boom is pricing locals out of the British countryside
Jade Angeles Fitton The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Devon, where I grew up and have lived on and off my whole life, always had a surplus of affordable places to live. Even a couple of years ago many private rentals stood empty for months. This year, when my husband and I needed to move back from Lundy, an island off the north Devon coast, things were very different. There was such a dearth of long-term rentals that I found myself jumping on anything listed. ... Over the past 18 months, the pandemic has triggered a reappraisal of city living. Many of those who began working from home desired more space; those without gardens craved access to the outdoors. This has caused a boom in rental and buying markets in rural areas ...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/01/pandemic-p…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.House prices continue to rise in July but experts flag imminent slowdown
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)House prices across the country continued to boom in July but property analysts are noticing signs of a slowdown triggered by affordability concerns and the Greater Sydney lockdown. ... Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith has raised concerns the total spend by the federal government on social housing and homelessness has been cut by almost $1 billion in real terms over the past decade as house prices and rents rise. Check out Tawar Razaghi's article entitled: 'Australian property prices continue to break records despite lockdowns: Core Logic' in Domain at: [https://www.domain.com.au/news/australia-property-prices-continues-to-break-record-growth-value-despite-lockdowns-core-logic-1076910/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=smh&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos5&ref=pos1] Or, read a further report entitled: 'Australian house prices rose more in July than incomes are rising in a year, data shows' in The Guardian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/02/australian-house-prices-rose-more-in-july-than-incomes-are-rising-in-a-year-data-shows]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-prices-continue-to…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.